Submission and Suffering

1 Peter 2:13-25

Transcript

Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the
emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil
and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing
good, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people
who are free, not using your freedom as a coverup for evil, but living as
servants of God. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the
emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the
good and gentle, but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing when,
mindful of God, one endures sorrow while suffering unjustly. For what credit is
it if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good
and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For
to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you
an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither
was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return.
When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him
who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we
might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed,
for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and
overseer of your souls. Would you pray with me this morning? Father, we thank
you for the wisdom and the goodness of your word that gives us direction as we
seek to live holy lives in a hostile environment. Lord, we pray that you would
be glorified this morning. Help us, I pray, to see the significance and the
application of your word in our daily lives. So be glorified, we pray, in Jesus'
name, amen. I don't think I need to convince too many of you that we live in
politically tumultuous times. And for many people, politics really is the
functional religion of the day. Many people live on a steady IV drip of
political and cultural commentary from their favorite podcaster, YouTuber, or
even sadly preacher. Conspiracies, outrage, anxiety seem to be the prevailing
modes of operation, not only for unbelievers, but sadly, even within the church
as well. And so in the midst of all this chaos, we come to the book of 1 Peter,
and this book speaks to us with freshness and hope, because it gives us
direction and purpose as we seek to navigate life in a world that is not our
home. It shows us how we can practically glorify God and command the gospel as
we pursue holiness in the midst of hostility. And so as we come to our passage
this morning, 1 Peter 2, 13 through 25, here's the key theme that we see. God
calls his people to humbly follow Jesus as we submit to authorities and suffer
in obedience. God calls his people to humbly follow Jesus as we submit to
authorities and suffer in obedience. Now we see this truth being developed in
our text beginning with our call to follow Christ in submission, verses 13
through 18, and then with our call to follow Jesus in suffering, verses 19
through 25. So let's begin with verses 13 through 18, following Christ in
submission. The scripture reads, be subject for the Lord's sake to every human
institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as those
sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For
this is the will of God, that by doing good, you should put to silence the
ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom
as a coverup for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone, love the
brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters
with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. Now,
before we dive into our specific passage, let's understand how this text relates
to the message and emphasis of the book as a whole. Now, Peter writes this
letter to saints who are suffering, and he writes to encourage them by reminding
them and us of the greatness of our salvation. Yes, they might be suffering, you
might be suffering, but he reminds us of what we have in Christ. We have a
living hope that gives us present perspective. He reminds us not only of what we
have in Christ, but also who we are in Christ. We are the new creation. We are
now the people of God. Once we were outside of God's mercy, but now we have
received his mercy. We are his people called to proclaim forth his excellencies
for the sake of his praise. We see what we have in Christ, who we are in Christ,
but we're also reminded of who we are in this world. We are strangers. We are
sojourners. We're exiles passing through. And so as Peter encourages the
believers, he also exhorts them then to live as God's holy people in a world
that is not our home, to commend the gospel in a society that is hostile to our
faith. And so when we come to chapter two, 11 through 12, we have something of
like a purpose statement or really summary of the book's message. Peter states,
beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the
flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles
honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers, and they surely will
seek to do so, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of
visitation. And so as we read this passage, we ought to be asking ourselves the
question, well, what does it look like to conduct ourselves in a honorable
manner? What kind of good deeds silence the skeptics, advance the gospel and
bring glory to God? Well, that's really what this next section is all about
beginning in verse 13. And so we find this command in verse 13 and 14, submit to
government authorities. Now submission is kind of the key theme of this section.
In verse 13, be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution. Verse
18, servants be subject to your masters with all respect. Chapter three, verse
one, likewise wives, be subject to your own husbands. So how do we glorify God?
How do we advance the gospel? How do we live in a honorable manner? Through
submission. Now, initially this emphasis seems a little bit odd. I mean,
submission doesn't exactly sound like something super spiritual. But think about
this. It could be tempting to think that, well, you know, if I'm in exile, if
I'm a sojourner in this world, then I don't need to really worry about human
authority. Why bother if ultimately I am under God's authority? Well, Peter
makes it clear, yes, we are God's people with a heavenly identity, but
nevertheless, we still have responsibility in our earthly society. We declare
and rejoice in the fact that Christ is Lord. And yet we acknowledge and submit
to human authorities. And so as his ambassadors, we are called to conduct
ourselves as model citizens in order to commend the goodness of the gospel. And
so be subject to every human institution. To be subject or to submit means to
willingly place myself under someone else's authority, to honor, obey, and
follow someone else's leadership. Now, in this text, we see that whether it's in
relation to the emperor or to lesser governing authorities that he commissions
in order to punish evil and do good, God calls his people to honor, respect, and
submit to governing authorities. Now, he gives some clarification here in the
remainder of the text. In verse 13, he tells us why we submit. We submit for the
Lord's sake, okay? So our submission to government authorities is really an
expression of our submission to Christ's authority. I cannot claim to be
submitting to Christ if I'm not submitting to governing authorities. We do this
for the Lord's sake. Well, that's important because we don't submit to
government authorities only when we agree with them or because they necessarily
deserve our respect. Sometimes they do things that are not worthy of respect. We
do not show honor because governing authorities are always honorable, but we
fulfill this command for the Lord's sake, for his honor, for his glory, and for
his praise. It's really about Jesus. Now, let me perhaps give you an example of
what this might practically look like in everyday life. Sometimes, maybe
oftentimes, we're tempted to vent our frustrations with politicians. I know I've
been tempted a few times in my life with that. And we could vent, air our
grievances with our coworkers. Maybe we send out that blast on social media. We
want people to know we aren't happy. But here's the question. By engaging in
that conversation where we vent all of our frustrations, are we really helping
the cause of Christ? Is this really doing anything that leads to the glory of
God and the advance of his gospel? If I blast that politician with my coworkers,
what am I revealing about the importance and goodness of the gospel? And so,
friends, for Jesus' sake, sometimes we just need to say, you know what? I'm just
not gonna go there. I don't need to say that thing that's so present on my mind.
Because at best, it distracts. It shifts the focus away from Christ lordship to
other issues. At worst, at best it distracts, but at worst, it can be
devastating. Because it provides an opportunity potentially for the skeptic to
dismiss or disregard our faith. And so we submit for Christ, but secondly, we
submit in order to silence the skeptics. Look at verse 15. For this is the will
of God. Now, when the scriptures tell us this is God's will, we should take
note. That by doing good, and specifically in this context, by submitting and
honoring authority, we should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
This is God's will for your life. This is God's will for my life. That by doing
good, honoring, and submitting to authorities, we silence the ignorant claims
and accusations of foolish people who would seek to undermine the Christian
faith and message. The reality is, as an ambassador of Christ, we should not
want any unbeliever to have any reason because of the way we speak about
authorities or politicians to dismiss the Christian faith. Friend, we need to be
really careful here. This call is God's call on our life. It's his will. Peter
is showing us practically, functionally, what it means to glorify God and
advance the gospel in our day-to-day life. We do that by living in a way that
shows honor and respect to authorities, even if and when they do not deserve
that honor or respect. So we do this for Jesus. We do this to silence the
skeptics. But also, finally, we submit because we are ultimately God's servants.
Look at verse 16. Live as people who are free. Not using your freedom, though,
as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone, love the
brotherhood. Fear God, honor the emperor. Now, during this time, as Peter's
writing, the Roman emperor was often viewed and worshiped by many as a god. And
so many citizens saw themselves as his servants. And Peter makes it clear that
those who are in Christ are free from that kind of bondage. But our freedom in
Christ is not an excuse. It should never be an excuse to simply do as we please
and disregard or disrespect human authorities. But rather, our freedom is
defined by our relationship to God as his servants. And so ultimately, our final
allegiance, our full allegiance, belongs to God alone. We don't worship, we
don't serve governing authorities as if their authority was final. We live as
servants of the king of kings, the Lord of lords, whose authority rules over
all. Which means then, if human authorities contradict God's authority, then as
the apostles in the book of Acts declared, we must obey God rather than man. And
so we conclude this section, verse 16, by encouraging us to show honor, but also
to remember our primary allegiance. Honor everyone, verse 17, but love the
brotherhood. We show honor as we acknowledge the fact that our fellow man is
made in the image of God. We honor, and yet there's a unique love that we are
called to cultivate with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We honor the
emperor, recognizing that his authority ultimately does indeed come from God.
God is the one who established human authority and government for our good, so
we honor the emperor. And yet, we ultimately fear God alone. And so, to commend
the gospel, as we follow Jesus, we submit to governing authorities. This week I
was trying to think of an example of someone in the Bible who really modeled
this kind of honor, who really exemplified this kind of text, and there's a
number of different individuals we thought about. Joseph is a great example.
Esther is a great example. But perhaps the most compelling example of a man who
exemplified the principles of verses 13 through 17 is Daniel. Do you remember
Daniel? It was said of Daniel that he had an excellent spirit. He conducted
himself with wisdom, with grace, and honor in relationships with pagan rulers
and magistrates. In fact, his conduct and his speech was so upright, was so
respectful, and so above reproach, that when his enemies tried to find something
that they could accuse Daniel of, they could not look at his conduct and say,
King, look at this guy. He doesn't honor you. He doesn't respect you. He
deserves to be punished. In fact, the scripture says, then the high officials
and the state traps sought to find a ground of complaint against Daniel with
regard to the kingdom, how he related to governing authorities. And the
scripture says they could find no ground for complaint or any fault. Here's why.
Because he was faithful. Because he was faithful. He quietly, steadily went
about the task that God had given him. There was no error or fault found in him.
Now, when the king ordered him to do something that was forbidden, what did
Daniel do? He chose obedience to the Lord, even though it could have cost him
his life. He honored the emperor, but ultimately he feared God alone. And even
when he had to disobey, if you read in Daniel chapter six, he did it in such a
gracious, respectful manner. We live in a day when there's a lot of talk,
there's a lot of anger, there's a lot of vitriol. And friend, this text helps
reorient the way we conduct ourselves in this society. Listen, frustration with
evil on the political realm is nothing new. Remember, as Peter's writing this,
who's the emperor? It's Nero. I don't care what president you think was the
worst of all time, they cannot touch Nero. Okay, not even close. These are not
apples to apples in any way, shape, or form, but how does Peter tell his, God's
people to interact with such an evil pagan man? Honor, respect, quietly go about
doing your business for the glory of God, for the good of others, so that the
gospel can be commended in every way. So we're called, as we follow Christ, to
submit to governing authorities. But we not only follow Christ in submission,
but we also follow Christ in suffering. And that's really the emphasis of verses
19 through 25. Now the command begins in verse 18, which is, servants, be
subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but
also to the unjust. Now, when we read this, we might be thinking, wait a minute,
Peter, are you like okay with slavery? Because the word servants is slaves,
slaves be subject to your masters with all respect. Now why isn't he condemning
slavery? Is he condoning it? Obviously not. As we read this text, two key things
we need to bear in mind. All right, number one, slavery in this time was very
different than slavery in early American history. These are not the same things.
We don't have time to go into all of the differences, but you basically have
more of an indentured servant idea here. You would have doctors, you would have
people that were highly educated, who were for a time and for a season, acting
as slaves in order to pay off debts. Many were well treated and respected. Of
course, there was abuses, as there always will be, but the system was quite
different than the system that we might almost impose on this text. So don't
make that mistake here by imposing what we maybe have ideas about with American
slavery into what's going on here. So number one, we're talking about something
that was quite different. But secondly, what is Peter's burden here in this
letter? As Peter exhorts believers, his burden is not primarily how do we
transform society. His burden primarily is how do we live as Christians in
society? Does that make sense? We find the same burden is both shared by Jesus,
by Paul and the other New Testament writers. Because remember, at this time,
Christianity is a minority religion under the threat of immense persecution. And
so what is the burden that Peter has here? Christians, let's live in such a
countercultural, gospel-commending way that the skeptical unbelievers
acknowledge the validity of our faith and are brought to repentance and faith in
the Lord Jesus. Now, of course, as Christians, we are called to let our light
shine, to do good works, to bless our society. But the ultimate burden here is
the advance of the gospel as we live holy lives. So Peter, as he writes, the
majority of these people are in fact slaves, many. And so he says, well, how
then should you conduct yourselves as Christians in this system? Well, we submit
and we show honor, even to those who are unjust. And he gives some
clarifications beginning in verses 19 through 25. He reminds us that obedience
to this command and suffering often go hand in hand. In verse 19, he says, for
this is a gracious thing. When mindful of God, one endures sorrows while
suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it,
you endure? But if when you do good and you suffer for it and you endure, this
is a gracious thing in the sight of God. He reminds God's people that if we're
going to follow Jesus, comfort cannot be our primary concern. Because many times
following Jesus in obedience makes life harder, not easier. Some of you, you
know this to be true. You have experienced this. As you seek to follow Christ,
you find yourself on the outside. You find yourself on the butt of different
jokes. You find yourself perhaps even suffering broken relationships, missed
opportunities. Listen, obedience and suffering go hand in hand. But here's the
good news. In verses 19 through 20, we are reminded that God is glorified when
we endure suffering for his sake. So yes, in the pathway of obedience, we will
suffer. But God is glorified as we endure suffering. Twice in verses 19 through
20, we see this phrase, it is a gracious thing. In other words, it's a sign of
God's favor. It's a sign of God's blessing. When believers persevere in faith
through unjust suffering, God is glorified. His grace is magnified and his
blessings will be experienced in due time. Now to be clear, the suffering is not
related to our arrogance or folly. He says, listen, if, what credit is it? Verse
20, if when you sin and are beaten for it, you suffer. There are some people who
just seem to be gluttons for punishment and they like to kind of frame their
punishment as suffering for righteousness sake. Years ago, I knew a pastor and
he would post just some wild stuff on YouTube, just wild stuff. And one day
during the middle of COVID, YouTube decided to kind of cancel his YouTube stuff.
And he came to me and he was just bemoaning, oh, Brother Micah, I was persecuted
for righteousness sake. I was like, bro, I'm not so sure that was righteousness
sake as much as maybe something else. Okay, he's saying, look, if you are quote,
suffering because of your own folly, there's no credit to that. There's no glory
in that. But if you're suffering in the path of obedience and you endure and you
persevere and you choose not to walk away from Christ, but you look to Christ,
that's a gracious thing. That's a God glorifying thing. Some of you right now,
you've been going through deep waters, sufferings of various kinds. I love the
fact that Peter leaves that suffering broad because that's the reality of life.
We suffer in many ways in many different seasons of life. And we're tempted to
think when we suffer, where is God in all of this? What is God doing? Why is it
that the harder I try to follow Christ, the harder life becomes? Well, what does
this passage remind us? Friend, here's the good news. This passage reminds us
that there is no pointless or wasted suffering in the Christian life. None of it
is in vain. In ways that oftentimes you and I cannot understand, God is doing
something in your life and through your life, through the suffering, so that his
name ultimately will be praised. In fact, God is magnified when believers suffer
in faith. Because in the suffering, what is he doing? He's refining us, he's
purifying us, he's deepening our faith so that ultimately Christ might be
praised. So yes, obedience often leads to suffering, but the good news is God is
glorified when we suffer for his sake. In fact, as we see in the third point
here, we are actually called to follow Christ through faith. Through suffering.
Look at verse 21. For this, for to this you have been called, because Christ
also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his
footsteps. Suffering is one of God's primary means of molding us into the image
of Christ. In fact, when we look at the life of Jesus, we see that suffering was
essential. Hebrews tells us that although he was a son, he learned obedience
through what he suffered. Now that is a kind of a mind boggling passage there,
but in Christ's humanity, suffering was necessary in his mission and calling as
the son of God. God teaches us through suffering, and he molds us through
suffering so that we would follow in the footsteps of our savior. So if
suffering was necessary for Jesus, then we can be sure it is necessary for those
who follow him. It's the means through which God takes all those truths that we
learn and study and know, and it's the means by which he makes those things real
and deep and significant in our lives. And so finally, as we suffer, and we
surely will, remember Christ's example and remember Christ's purpose in
suffering. In verse 21, we saw our calling, and now we see in verse 22, Christ's
example. When he suffered, how did he suffer? He committed no sin. Neither was
there deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in
return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but he continued entrusting
himself to him who judges righteously. Now notice here what Christ did not do
when he suffered unjustly. He didn't fire back. He didn't get even. He didn't
verbally retaliate. In fact, he didn't even defend himself. Here's what he did.
He continued to entrust himself to the only one who judges righteously, truly,
faithfully. As Christ suffered, you can see that he entrusts himself to the
Father. Lord, you see. Lord, you know. You are the one who will right the
wrongs. You are the one who will vindicate your servant. None who wait upon you,
who look to you, will be put to shame. I can trust you. Because ultimately, it's
his judgment that really matters. No human and their judgment is ultimately
final. It's God's judgment that matters. And so in faith, what do we see Christ
doing as he suffers unjustly? He shows us how to suffer unjustly by casting
himself on the sovereign care and the goodness and wisdom and judgment of his
Father. So as we suffer, remember his example. This is how we suffer, following
in his footsteps. But then verses 24 and 25, not only remember his example, but
remember his purpose. Why did he suffer? In verses 24 through 25, not merely to
provide an example, though he certainly does, but he suffers to rescue and
redeem his people from their sin. Verse 24, he himself bore our sins in his own
body on the tree or the cross, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed, for you were straying like
sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and the overseer of your souls.
Christ suffered, Christ died in our place so that we might die, die to sin and
live to righteousness. Because before Christ's suffering, we were like sheep
going astray, without any care or concern for the things of God, living life
according to our rule, following our own way. But what does Christ do? He
suffers in our place unjustly, the ultimate injustice, the righteous suffering
for the unrighteous, why? So that he would bring us to God. So that he would be
that good shepherd who would go and seek after the one who was lost and bring us
back to himself, so that we might know and enjoy and glorify him forever. This
is why he suffered. He suffered to rescue you from your sin, so that you would
no longer live under the slavery of sin, but rather that you would live unto
him. You would live for his glory, for his name, for his praise. And so friend,
as we seek to live in a world that is chaotic and tumultuous, we are not left to
our own devices. God gives us instruction. God gives us the wisdom of the word.
And so as we follow Christ as his people, sojourners, and exiles, and hostile
world, he calls us to follow Jesus by submitting to authorities and suffering in
obedience. Let's pray. Father, we come into your presence and we acknowledge
that we fall so short of your ideal, that Lord, so often we reject the example
of Christ and we pursue our own way, that we fail to entrust our lives, our
concerns, our anxieties upon you. Father, give us grace to follow Jesus by
submitting to authorities, even when we don't feel like it. Give us grace, I
pray, to serve so that we might demonstrate your glory in a pagan world. Lord,
as we suffer, help us, I pray, to remember Christ's example and to embrace
Christ's purpose. We pray this for your glory, amen.